Pinewood Derby

We had our first pinewood derby in May. The boys had a great time making and racing their cars. Ben made a submarine and Jimmy made a bed. (This is what I mean when I say he likes to think outside of the box! See previous post entitled Conventional = Boring.) Their cars were surprisingly fast. Jimmy won 3rd place. Ben almost won in his den but he was barely beat out by one other car. He didn't really care - he was just happy and excited to be there and to race his car. They had fun and that's what's important! :)

Real Life Night at the Museum

Back in the spring our family got to spend the night at the Natural History Museum with the cub scouts. It was a fun and memorable experience - even though there was no African wildlife, mischievous monkeys, or battling miniature armies. The only live animal was a snake that they got to pet. I held off showing them the movie because I thought Luke would get scared and think that that everything would come to life once it got dark. We watched the movie after the whole experience and I'm glad we did. It would have been a long night trying to get Luke to fall asleep.

Visit from Sarah

I was really sad to leave Ohio 4 years ago - mostly I was sad to leave my best friend, Sarah. It had been 4 years since we've seen each other and she finally got to come out here to visit with her two kids, Jonny and Jessy. It was so good to see them! The weather was bad so we didn't really go out and do a lot of stuff. It was just so good to spend time with them. I hope it's not another 4 years before I see her again!  I guess it's probably my turn to go to Ohio this time. :)

Spring Break in Las Vegas

For spring break I went to Vegas with my mom and sisters. I kind of have a hard time with Las Vegas itself, but I had a great time hanging out with them. We went to see a couple of shows - Phantom of the Opera, and O by Cirque du Soleil. Both of the shows were incredible! We stayed at the Aria and spent a day at their spa, which was amazing and so relaxing!! My favorite place in Vegas was the Conservatory at the Bellagio hotel. This place is like a fairy tale and it's full of beautiful flowers. It was my sanctuary from the crowds, smoke, and overall dirtiness of the whole city. I probably could have stayed all day there - but I don't think my mom and sisters would have let me.

Conventional = Boring

It used to drive me crazy that my boys like to do things opposite of the way they are "supposed" to be done. I've been known to describe Jimmy as "unconventional" because he always seems to put his own spin on whatever he's doing. I think I'm starting to catch the vision of their creative innovation and I hope that it will serve them well some day when they need to find a job. I love it that they are independent, creative, and imaginative. Here is one example of his creativity. In the morning, before he goes to school, Jimmy has the responsibility of emptying the dishwasher. This is usually what I find most mornings after he's done. He likes to build towers with the dishes. I think this one is the tallest tower he's gotten. Stacking the dishes in a nice, neat pile and putting them away - how boring! I never would have done something like that as a kid but I'm not Jimmy and thank goodness I'm not! I love this kid!! He keeps me smiling! :)

Fun with Amber

Back in the spring Amber came to visit us. That's always a highlight for us. For some reason I don't have a lot of pictures with Amber but we had a lot of fun sight seeing with her. We went swimming and to the science center. Which is always fun - and it free!! Bonus! We watched an IMAX movie, Born to be Wild, which was cute. I think it was more fun watching Luke reach out and try to touch the animals than it was watching the actual movie. There's also a rose garden outside of the science center which is beautiful! And the boys had fun trying to lift the truck with the pulley.

 We went on a great hike up Solstice canyon in Malibu. Ben was so excited that he caught a lizard. Amber and I were running the other way because it was kind of creepy to watch it squirm in his hand. Eventually, after convincing him that the lizard would be happier in the wilderness and not in our house, he set him free. Whew! Amber always comes through with her creative problem solving too. When Luke fell down and skinned his knee she gave him some "magic water" since we didn't have band aids on us. It worked like a charm and I have used "magic water" numerous times since then. It's saved me a fortune on band aids! ;)

Jesus Loves Pirates Too

One day before church Luke came out with his pirate earring on. Jim and I thought it was so cute we tried to talk him into wearing it to church. We told him that if anybody asks you can just tell them that Jesus loves pirates too. Unfortunately he chickened out, but it was cute while it lasted.

Rainy Day Camping

Back in March we were scheduled to go camping but unfortunately, Mother Nature put a damper on our plans. Because of the rain we had to cancel our camping trip. The boys were very disappointed so we decided to have a rainy day camping trip in our living room. We set up a makeshift hut/tent, roasted marshmallows over the stove, and even had a campfire - it was in the form of a cake but at least it looked kind of like a campfire. I could definitely get used to camping like this - We stayed warm and dry; we had all the running how water that we needed; we didn't have to use the bathroom in a stinky pit, and we got to watch movies on a real TV. ;)